This paper provides an overview of a project (now in its formative stages) to develop Head Start measures of program effects on children 3 to 7 years of age. The program approach is distinctive in emphasizing evaluation of all aspects of children's development that may affect their overall competence in reflecting the concerns, views, and values of a broad range of persons, and in recommending that the proposed measures be processed differently with children from different backgrounds in order to generate a plurality of scales of development. Specific descriptions of desired characteristics of children were collected from parents, public school teachers, Head Start staff members and child development scholars. Also, research literature was viewed, and special studies were commissioned. More than 1700 characteristics were identified and aggregated to form six domains: (1) health and physical development, (2) cognitive development, (3) social-emotional development, (4) aesthetic development, (5) moral and ethical development and (6) life skills. These domains include 26 dimensions of development. All domains except (4) and (5) are recommended for inclusion as evaluation measures. It is proposed that these measures be used to assess children's developmental status and that program effects be evaluated in terms of the relative change in children's development resulting from the program. Standards of significant change would be set in terms of the maximum change affected by the consistently most effective programs in a particular dimension for particular groups of children. (SS)